A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. [...] Else to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday, February 11

So Ian and I didn't get around to watching Grey's Anatomy until last night (a sure sign that the thrill is wearing off--with the show, that is, not with Ian), and instead of being moved by this "unforgettable special episode of Grey's Anatomy," I was totally pissed off. I've just about had it with these doctors and their constant fits of petty depression. This week, Meredith tries to "disappear" into her bathtub and is comforted by Izzy who "ate everything out of the fridge last night." Why are these women so constantly unhappy?! What is so bad about their lives ?! Let me lay it out for you: These people work in an amazing hospital where they love what they do--they love it so much, in fact, that they never truly want to leave work. And why would they? I mean, all of their best friends work in the same place...they get to talk with their friends, eat with their friends, and laugh with their friends whenever they want. And let's not forget the enormous amounts of money they get paid to do this. Not that the money matters; all they ever spend it on is booze, rent, and student loan payments (except for Izzy, who has no student loans, and Meredith, who inherited her huge, gorgeous Seattle home). Let's not leave out the fact that they all conveniently fall in love with people they work with, which makes sense since everyone in the hospital is ridiculously good-looking!

And then the complaining begins...

All they do is bitch, bitch, bitch, about how hard their lives are, what a struggle it is to be them. Please. I wish my life was such a struggle! Let's see...what would my life be like if I lived in the Grey's Anatomy world?

Well, first of all, I'd be brilliant at what I do. (Oh wait, I already am! Skip that one) Then, I'd have a great job at a well-funded, private college where, conveniently enough, all of my students just happen to write the most interesting papers I have ever read (well, maybe not all of them, but at least one a week). Ian works there, too. He teaches in the Math department. We both makes tons of money, but we don't really care about that because we own our home outright (an old beauty with tons of space and character), we don't have a lot of expenses (let's throw in some on-site daycare for Matilda), and we already have tons in savings thanks to that 9 mil that Ian inherited from a terminally-ill heiress he used to tutor. Work really is my social life because everyone I work with is super-cool (and super-hot), not to mention all the people in Ian's department who are also fun and hip. We all like to eat together in the quad and make jokes about the dorks from the Science building. Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, there's that hot guy from the Veterinary Medicine department who found me irresistible, but Ian took care of him. It's so fun when guys fight over me. Yes, my job is stressful--and sometimes my students fail, but it's what I've always wanted to do, and I'm just so damned good at it! Besides, if this gig doesn't work out I can always fall back on my career as a lingerie model or just retire and live off the interest on our savings.

Wow, that would suck. I can see where I'd have so much to complain about. I, too, might have to drown myself in the bathtub or eat everything in the fridge (not that it would matter, since I never gain weight no matter how much I eat).

Give me a break.

I realize that this is a TV show and therefore the characters have to live completely unrealistic lives in order to remain interesting, but I really think the writers are pushing it. Can't we have just one episode where all of the characters are just like "Wow, I am so damned lucky! Today I think I will revel in being me!" No, they just deal with a massive tragedy where their response is to argue about who gets to scrub in on whose emergency surgery. This was interesting for two seasons, but, as I said earlier, the thrill is wearing off.

I'm so glad that you made this observation about the "GA" gang. I'd never looked at it this way. But there is no show without conflict and obstacles to overcome, is there? No one would watch it. I really think I like Izzy the best.

I really don't know if the writing has changed that much. I watched the first seasons on DVD in July & August. There hasn't been much character development, with the exception of Alex Karev, which may be what is finally getting under your skin.

I like Izzy the least, as she is the whiniest, woe-is-me, ooh I ate a whole tub of butter not that you can tell because I still look like the lingerie model I have always been baby of the lot. The better adjusted people on the show seem to catch the brunt of the complaints, and are treated like pariahs, presumably because they do not join in the endless cycle of whining about how the Rolls Royce is out of gas or the lack of Beluga caviar or whatever the crisis of the week is.

Cristina (Sandra Oh's character) is incapable of not being a complete moron in her personal life, as it seems to take her at least one or two months to come to a decision that a non-dysfunctional person could make in seconds (Gee, this prestigious doctor that I am attracted to and am having great sex with loves me and has tons of money and wants to be with me despite my many, many, many egregious flaws. Should I do it, or should I hide the fact that because two otherwise intelligent people in a freaking hospital could not seem to find or practice any birth control I am pregnant with his baby?).

Whiny bitches, men and women alike. You know what that hospital needs? Dr. Perry Cox. He would straigthen that place out in 30 minutes, plus commercials.

The writing hasn't changed. The situations have, but these people never learn. EVER. EVER. Erinbw hits the nail right on its whiny little head. Seattle Grace is in some Strange Phantom Zone where nobody ever learns from engaging in the same destructive behaviors over and over again. One might think that a show dealing with surgeons (you know, people of above average to extreme intelligence whith great manual dexterity and the ability to adapt quickly and confidently to crisis situations) would avoid this flaw. The viewing public is the voting public, though, so I guess this all makes sense when you consider the audience.

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